Moving On
by Serena B
Summary: Sequel to Little Brother, spoilers for ep. 44 and on


SPOILERS for episodes 44 and up. Do not read any further if you don't want to be spoiled!

  
  


This is the sequel to Little Brother. You don't have to read Little Brother to understand this story, but I would encourage you to anyway just to get some background. Um, also cause I just like to promote my own stuff. ^_^ But anyway, this short fic is about Chiriko's sister and Tasuki dealing with their grief.

  
  
  
  
  
  


~~~Moving On~~~

  
  
  
  


Tasuki watched as the young girl standing near Chiriko's grave wept silently to herself. She looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember ever meeting her. He didn't want to intrude on her grief, so he stood away from her and waited for her to leave.

Things had been happening so fast in the last couple of months that Tasuki hadn't had time to properly say good-bye to the friends he had lost. But, now that the war was over and Suzaku no Miko had returned to her own world, he seemed to have nothing but time on his hands. So he had decided to come and say farewell to his fellow star brother before going back to Mt. Reikaku. 

He heard a gasp and looked up to see that the girl had turned around and was looking at him.

"I'm sorry," Tasuki said to her. "I shoulda left when I saw ya there."

"It's alright. I was just saying good-bye." She looked at him curiously. "Did you know my brother?"

He nodded. "I didn't know Chiriko had a sister. That must be why ya seemed familiar to me. Ya look like him."

"Chiriko?"

"Oh, I guess ya didn't call him that."

"No. We called him Dokun. I'm Ou Kaiko. How did you know my brother?"

"I'm Tasuki."

"Suzaku no Seishi?"

"Yeah."

She was silent for a moment as she looked at the red-haired boy. Part of her couldn't help but resent the fact that he was still here while her brother was gone. Another part of her was jealous that this boy had shared a part of Dokun's life that she had never known. But when she looked into his eyes, and saw the weariness and grief in them, she knew that he had suffered as well. Kaiko felt strangely comforted by the knowledge that she wasn't the only one who was hurting.

Tasuki watched her as she looked at him. He watched as the emotions flickered across her face. She looked into his eyes and her expression shifted again, this time to one of understanding. Tasuki felt as if she were looking into his soul.

"I remember hearing about you from one of Dokun's letters," she said.

"Really? I hope he didn't say anything too bad about me."

"Not at all. In fact, he seemed to look up to you a lot. Dokun seemed so happy in his letters. He talked a lot about the new friends he had made. At home he was always sort of alone. Because of being different and all. But, I guess, when he found you guys, he finally found a place where he could belong."

Tasuki could feel the tears coming to his eyes as Kaiko talked about Chiriko. Memories were suddenly overwhelming him.

"I'm sorry. I've been so bogged down in my own pain, that I guess I didn't realize how much other people have been hurting. That's why I'm here. My mother said that I had to make peace with things. So I came to say good-bye to Dokun. But I don't really know if it's helped at all. I still feel so..."

"Angry."

"Yeah. Mama said I can't go on being mad at the world forever. But, I can't help what I feel."

"I know what ya mean. Sometimes I feel like it's all been such a waste."

They were both quiet for a minute, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Were you there when...when Dokun...when he.." 

Kaiko couldn't seem to get the words out. But Tasuki knew what she was asking. He nodded slowly.

"They n-never told us h-how..."

"It was fast and painless," Tasuki lied, quickly repressing the horrific memories of Chiriko's death.

Kaiko just stared at him for a moment. "Thank you for lying," she said quietly. "He must have been in a lot of pain before he died."

"He was very brave. He was happy, though," Tasuki said giving a harsh little laugh. It reminded Kaiko of her own bitterness. 

"Even in the end, he thanked us."

She took a minute to digest this statement. "That sounds like something Dokun would have done." Then Kaiko did something she hadn't done for months; she smiled. It was just a small smile, but it was start. 

"Tasuki-san, do you want to talk some more? I was going to find something to eat in town. Would you like to go with me?"

Tasuki looked at the girl. She reminded him of Chiriko so much with her light auburn hair and green eyes. 

"Sure," he said. "I'd like that."

  
  
  
  
  
  


The End

  
  
  
  


I hope everyone liked this. C & C (even if you think it sucks). I was thinking about continuing this to one more part, but I don't know...

  
  


Serena B 04/01/01

  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
